There are commercially available a variety of sanding tools that make use of a replaceable sanding element such as sandpaper strips. One type of hand sander comprises a holder having clamps which secure the ends of a piece of sandpaper or the like with the center portion of the sandpaper firmly supported against a backer. This sanding tool may be a hand held block, with spring clamps holding a rectangle of sandpaper, or may be provided with an electric vibrator which reciprocates the sandpaper at high speeds. Such tools are commonly used for sanding large surfaces or surfaces having a great deal of material to be removed or smoothed. Most tools are not ordinarily useful for small delicate sanding or sanding of small and unusually-shaped workpieces. In part, the limitations of such tools result from the inclusion in the tool of a backer used to support and engage the back of the sandpaper which does not have enough tensile strength to be self supporting.
A second type of hand tool sander is exemplified by U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,956,858 and 3,874,126. In general these patents secure a flexible strip of abrasive material in a hacksaw-like frame. This second type of hand tool sander which is not designed primarily for large surfaces but rather for a smaller component, nonetheless has limitations even for such uses. Such hand sanders exemplified, for example, by patents 3,956,858 and 3,874,126 require the use of specially-shaped and designed abrasive strips which appear to be comparatively expensive to make and therefore not desirable as a disposable item. Furthermore, such sanding strips may not provide sufficient flexibility and adaptability for tools of different sizes. The mechanism for securing the strip, moreover, is not useful for fabric or paper sanding strips and presents problems with respect to manufacture, assembly and use.
Additionally, the flexible abrasive sanding strips, which have been designed and used in connection with hand sanders of a type described in the second group, are not adapted for use on sanding small circumferences or curved surfaces. Finally, this is a hand tool intended to facilitate work on small or irregular pieces where power tools are difficult to control or otherwise inappropriate.